| If I were to ask you to name the closest country to | | | | southern most deep-water port in the United States; |
| the United States, what would your answer be? Let | | | | however, he inadvertently built Miami by bringing those |
| me help you out a bit. It's not Miami even though many | | | | in Key West north. |
| who live in Miami would halfheartedly joke that it was. | | | | Flagler's railroad connected the Eastern Atlantic, |
| The various Latin American and Hispanic cultures living, | | | | planting families through growth in an otherwise sand |
| breathing, and working in close proximity of one | | | | invested swamp. In the wake of Flagler's hotel and |
| another create an atmosphere entirely distinct from | | | | railroad development, he built schools and hospitals, |
| the rest of the United States. The term Hispanic and | | | | which garnered him, the eternal title of Father of Miami. |
| Latino are often used interchangeably in American | | | | Today, Miami's diverse Hispanic and Latino population |
| English to describe race. The origin of the term | | | | make it a hotbed of culture - lingering in the air like the |
| Hispanic derives from its connection to Hispania - the | | | | stalwart elements of humidity. You need only stroll |
| Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. A Latino is an | | | | down Calle Ocho in March during the annual event in |
| individual who identifies with his or her Latin American | | | | Little Havana, named after the street where it takes |
| country such as Mexico, Cuba, or Venezuela, but the | | | | place, to take part in a raucous celebration of |
| term Hispanic is used to identify the modern day | | | | Hispanics and Latinos of all stripe - from sunrise to |
| Portugal, Andorra, Spain, Gibraltar and other | | | | sunset, they feast on peaceful demonstrations of pride |
| pre-Roman ancestors. | | | | and culture. With what began as a way of separating |
| On the surface, there are no striking differences | | | | one culture from another, grew into a source of great |
| separating a Latino from a Hispanic - other than | | | | pride leading people to identify themselves as a part to |
| distinctive accents and vocal expressions. In all | | | | a much bigger whole. |
| actuality, the similarity is no more significant than that of | | | | As we move forward from one day to the next, it is |
| the relationship between Australia and New Zealand, | | | | important to remember that we all have ancestry that |
| Russia and Lithuania, or Canada and the United States. | | | | can be traced to another country. The different |
| Many Hispanics and Latinos have established roots in | | | | countries each of our ancestors came from have |
| South Florida. In the last hundred years, the population | | | | helped define American society. Whether you're |
| in South Florida has undergone quite the | | | | Hispanic, Latino or other, who you are today, is a direct |
| transformation. At the end of the 19th century, Key | | | | result of where your ancestors came from, for all |
| West was the most populous city in Florida and a | | | | Americans share one common bond - their citizenship. |
| mecca of Latin culture. | | | | That citizenship connects people of all shapes and |
| The turning point came when Henry Flagler brought the | | | | sizes in a multi-faceted mosaic uniting one and all on a |
| railroad south through Miami and down into Key West. | | | | common front - laid out like a giant patch-work quilt. |
| Flagler's intention was to take advantage of the | | | | |